It was one mid-afternoon at work when my mother told me that they were going to town, for a check-up.  My father woke up feeling unwell, and upon checking in our barangay health center, his blood pressure was higher than normal it spiked up to 220/100, which is already a hypertensive crisis, and immediate action was necessary so he was given a referral to the town center.

 As expected there was a long line of people, and after waiting for several minutes, he finally got to the receiving person where he was interviewed and asked when the personnel took his referral, I felt a bit worried because I could see distress in her face, she moves quickly and immediately checked my father’s blood pressure and then inform the public doctor about it. My father was given a small tablet to take, and while waiting I asked about my father’s situation, then I was given another tablet and instructed to give it to my father after a few minutes and to inform her when the time had passed, so she can check his blood pressure again.

[Photo courtesy of Thirdman/pexels.com]

People come and go, and yep we are still there, my father’s blood pressure was still a bit high. Anyway, my father was given a referral to undergo a laboratory test, and upon looking at the referral with many checks in it, my mind started to calculate how much are we going to spend to have it done.

It was a good thing the kind and jolly doctor was very friendly, and yes he was the doctor who I spoke with regarding my health issue. He asked my father if he had money, and I replied we are poor, haha. The doctor jokingly says, maybe my father is poor, but I am not which I laugh it out, and says I am poor too.

To make it short, the doctor instructed us what to do and where to go.  We went to the public hospital right after, to find out what we needed to avail the service, and since my father need’s to do fasting, we decided to have it done next week without knowing the laboratory and the office is opened during weekends.

There has just been so much stress for me these past few weeks, it was all maybe collected from different reasons, stress from work, at home from people, etc., It was tiring already dealing with immaturity from my other workmates who didn’t know how to stop throwing jokes, it was toxic and it made me sick. My body couldn’t handle the stress and anxiety, I remember experiencing the same thing a few years back when I quit my job.

When I went to the center for a check-up a few weeks ago, I was told to visit a specialist and have some tests. I didn’t follow the referral due to different factors and being afraid to do it, haha. It stopped, but when it became toxic again at work, I was not drinking enough water, I seldom used the toilet, been drinking colas, it all started again it felt like my body was deteriorating.

[Photo courtesy of Pedro Figueras/pexels.com]

I went to an herb doctor the other day after much deliberation on what to do, where I was told I got bewitched by an unseen being, was told it was a kind one, but I was asked to offer a white male chicken which is hard to find, no wonder I have been looking to my cousin’s white chicken (not pure) a few days ago before visiting a herb doctor, as if my instinct already know what do I need, lol.

At home, I decided to do herbal treatment, I looked for grass, boiled it, and made some tea out of it. I also bought vitamins to boost my immune system, slowly I am feeling better, but I was feeling weak and my emotions were low, wasn’t feeling happy anymore, and I was losing my vibe and myself. I am becoming aloof, distant, unobservant, and cold. The truth is, I decided to establish my boundaries and never care at all about what they said, I tried not to react as possible, I held my emotions and was just thankful to have a good support system, I have this one friend who understands my ordeal and who always advise me what to do.

Anyway, I don’t wanna dwell with me being sick, because I believe we have our own timeline, if we will die, we will die, no excuses.

If you’ve lived in American all your life, there might be a part of you that yearns to know what it’s like to live beyond the borders of the U.S. Especially if you love to travel and have already spent some time in other countries, living abroad for a while might seem like the logical next step to you. And who knows, you might even choose to stay permanently. But if you’re just starting off on this journey, there are likely a few things you’re unsure about or that are concerning to you. So to help make this process a little easier to bear, here are three tips for preparing to live outside the U.S. for the first time.

Set Up For Your New Life Abroad

Before you decide that you’re going to move to a particular country, it’s a good idea to begin setting up your life there, including finding a job and a decent place that you might like to live. According to Jennifer Lachs, a contributor to GoAbroad.com, there are tons of work abroad programs available that can help you line up a job while you’re living in this new country. If you work for a large company in the U.S., you might want to see if there’s a chance for simply transferring to an office in another country. And since it can be hard to find a place to live merely by looking online, you may want to book a hotel for the first few nights that you’ll be in this new country so you can get a first-hand look at a few places you’ve been considering before you make a permanent choice.

Prepare The Legal Logistics

Living in a different country is very different from just visiting that country for a short period of time, especially if you don’t necessarily have a timeframe of when you may or may not be leaving the country. Because of this, it’s important that you get all the legal logistics taken care of before you arrive. According to Elizabeth Preske, a contributor to Travel and Leisure, this could include applying for or renewing your passport, securing a visa, setting up a bank account, finding the right medical insurance, and making copies of any important documents you may need to bring with you.

Get Ready For Potential Culture Shock

Even if you’ve been to this country before, living there could be a whole different ball game for you. With this in mind, Diane Schmidt, a contributor to The Spruce, suggests that you prepare yourself for potential culture shock. To best handle this, you may want to start learning any new languages as soon as you can, do as much research about the area and customs as you’re able to, and prepare yourself to be open-minded and accepting of things you may not be familiar with or easily understand.

If you’re considering moving outside of the U.S., use the tips mentioned above to prepare yourself for this new adventure.

Shapewear is an important contributor to the glam industry today. They collect you and your body into a fit that makes you want to dress every day. The style forward takes a plunge with a good-fit dress and a shaping dress contours you like no other.

However, not every shapewear is worthy and gives your body the attention to detail it deserves. Get your dream body and exhibit confidence in Popilush’s famous line of shapewear clothing. The diverse range of dresses and styles makes it a top contributor to fashion and functionality. Here are the best bodysuit shapewear options for you.

Built-in Shapewear Off-Shoulder Dress

Featuring an off-shoulder cut and a bodycon-fit dress, this built-in shapewear ticks all the boxes for fashion and comfort. The off-shoulder neck gives a wide neck look for styling. The dual mesh-control contours the tummy giving it a flattening look.

Product link: https://www.popilush.com/products/built-in-shapewear-long-sleeve-modal-midi-dress

The overlapped fabric at the crotch makes it easy to open for restroom visits. The leg contour panels are also a great addition to it. This shaping dress is made from sustainable clothing with a mixture of nylon and spandex.

Built-in shapewear Leather Bodysuit Or Midi Skirt Or Mini Skirt Or Leggings

Leather speaks of luxury and top-trending design. So does it in the bodysuits. The bra-free design is elastic and has a built-in mesh-free shapewear. It contours your tummy and thighs in a way a model has.

Product link: https://www.popilush.com/collections/bodysuits/products/built-in-shapewear-leather-bodysuit-or-midi-skirt-or-mini-skirt-or-leggings

This leather bodysuit is multi-purpose and can be used as a top with a mini skirt, leggings, and pants. This shaping dress is made up of sustainable fabric which is 62% Nylon and 38% Spandex. You can rock every nighttime party in this leather bodysuit because leather is the fashion here to stay. This is one of the best bodysuits shapewear out there.

Built-in Shapewear and Shine Dress and Bodysuit

The knotted style dress shaping dress is perfection. The mid-knot is aesthetic with a broad sleeveless finish made in leather. The high elastic range makes it an easy yet durable outfit that you can wear on multiple occasions.

Product link: https://www.popilush.com/products/built-in-shapewear-shine-dress-or-bodysuit

The dress is easy to put on and take off, all thanks to the soft fabric and sustainable fabric. The dress has a V-neck and a covered back which is modest. It has four variations including a thong bodysuit, slip maxi dress long sleeves, and twisted maxi dress. All the right reasons to invest in this. You can add contrasting accessories like gold-colored earrings with it to complete the look.

Built-In Shapewear One Shoulder Split Modal Maxi Dress

The Built-In Shapewear One Shoulder Split Modal Maxi Dress has a one-shoulder design. One shoulder is ultimately modish and chic. It reveals your beauty bones and shows off a contoured look.

Product link: https://www.popilush.com/products/built-in-shapewear-one-shoulder-split-modal-maxi-dress

This dress’s stitching provides an hourglass finish and fit. The built-in shapewear and mesh control especially on the stomach. The look completes with high slits at the side to ease mobility. The booty lift is contouring and does not compromise on your body, unlike other shapewear in the market. This dress is promising in its shape and chic look.

Here are the top trending shapewear dresses for easy style that prioritize your body and assure self-love everywhere you go.

There was influenza-like disease (cough, body pain, sore throat, and fever) hit the country, and we are not excused for it, it was the end of October when I felt sick and tired. It started with body pain, headache, and recurring fever in the afternoon, was feeling sick but I was still going to work because I needed to, we were beating a deadline, and we had to submit the list of drivers for the fuel subsidy from the national government.

[Photo courtesy of pixabay/pexels.com]

Prior to being sick and feverish, I was already feeling toxic at work for different reasons, and maybe it was one of the reasons why my immune system went down the drain, as I don’t normally have a fever.

Anyway, sometimes I have wondered what life would be like if I continued working at home, instead of working outside of my comfort zone. Nobody knows, but the introverted me loves staying at home rather than being outside and draining my energy. Then I realized, it is going to be more toxic at home looking after my niece and listening to my mother, haha.

Our health is the center of our life and being healthy should be part of our overall lifestyle, but that isn’t always the case, we tend to abuse our body and health without realizing our money won’t be enough if our health deteriorates.

A week ago early in the morning, my mother complained of stomach ache and it continued to bother her so she and my sister went to a doctor for a check-up, but that check-up turned to hospital confinement.  She was hospitalized for a simple stomach ache,  which turned out to be acute gastroenteritis of the abdomen.

There was a little drama before her confinement because I told her to seek a second opinion and if ever she needed to be confined I would like her to go to the public hospital or the hospital owned by our boss, it’s private, but at least I maybe could ask our boss for a help through a discount.

My mother didn’t want to be confined, if not to her doctor’s choice of hospital, it was her doctor since she had a stroke a few years ago, and maybe she is already at ease with this doctor, and her experience with public hospital confinement a few years ago didn’t please her, so yes I was left no choice but to agree with her caprice, rather than seeing her sick at home without knowing her case is serious or not.

She was confined for almost three days and two nights, and our bill was in the ceiling, when we requested our bill it was ₱35,000.00, and I momentarily exited my body because I didn’t know where to get that amount, with the help of the doctor and a few of the hospital employees they thought us where to ask for medical help, it might not be enough, but at least the burden was lessened and with a lot of people lining up asking for assistance  my sister and I have to be absent for a day so we can process everything.

My blog was down for almost a month because of my problem with my hosting provider, the monthly fee doubled and it was too expensive for me having no fixed income online, I canceled my hosting asked for a refund, and moved to a new hosting provider which is a way cheaper, but when I started moving my websites, things didn’t turn out well, the coding was broken leaving my blogs without images and cluttered.

I’ve looked for another hosting option and I found this new hosting provider, a little cheaper than the one I purchased less than a month ago and was compatible as well, my websites run smoothly without leaving an error, my only problem was I forgot to back-up my WordPress themes, so right now I am using the older version which is not designed to mobile readers.

I hope my new hosting provider will not give me a headache in the coming days or else I will be left without a choice but to say goodbye to my blogs.

Life became so busy these past few days that I almost forgot I have blogs to manage, I almost lost my hosting a month ago and dunno if I can hold on to it this month, life became not so well these past few months.

It was not my norm to ask for help,  that even my coworkers have to remind me at times that I am not alone at work, I always try to fix and do things alone, and so if I did ask for help it means I badly need one.

Anyway, I have been busy establishing my presence as digital creator on Facebook. but it was still a long way to go, because I need 60,000 minutes view to be accepted in stream ads, I have been creating reels and doing some live streaming to get it, but I am not yet halfway there. It was a good thing some friends and coworkers were helping me by sponsoring small prizes for games during live, they said they enjoyed listening to me, doing all the talking. LOL

Blogging dies when vlogging became a new trend so should I just move on and throw my years of writing away?

To improve productivity and ensure better camaraderie in the office, our LGU planned and simultaneously conducted a team building. Our office together with the Rural Health Unit, OTRU, and a few OCC employees constituted Group II, we are grouped into four groups because most event places can’t accommodate a larger crowd.

Our group consists of 117 participants, before the event we conducted a site inspection of the possible venue of our team building, and after deliberation and carefully considering the best options, our team building was held at Blue Pebbles located at Alcantara, Romblon.

We agreed to meet up at 9:30 in the morning to prepare for departure at ten o’clock in the morning to Alcantara, I went to work earlier than that and waited for my workmates, we had a group picture in front of the municipal hall before departing, several vans were hired to accommodate employees who don’t have their own car or motorcycle.

We arrived at the venue after an hour, and since I was the one assigned to billeting, I have to assign rooms to every department, and with that, I wasn’t able to help a friend, who had motion sickness. We rested a bit and lunch was served, unlike our previous team-building food this year’s team-building was catered.

The team-building activities started at one o’clock in the afternoon, and as host of the event I have no choice, but to be at the front and do most of the talking.  The usual preliminaries during a program were done, followed up by short messages from the present SB Members, and in between were the intermission numbers from each department.

After which, were short learning, discussion, and games with our GAD Focal person, who teaches us about the difference between Gender and Sex, as well as the do’s and don’ts in the workplace, the things we should avoid doing, because without knowing we may be violating someone’s privacy and someone’s being.

We all enjoyed the activity, we are grouped into four and had a mind teaser game, as well as creating and performing our own group chant/yell.  Our municipal Mayor arrives just right after we divulge into our snack, I let her rest a bit after acknowledging her arrival. Although I know that our Mayor is always prepared and ready to speak, it was epic that I  asked her if she is ok or ready to give a speech at the exact moment because I felt like it will be unpleasant if I called her right away without asking her, hahaha.

Anyway, before our municipal mayor shared an inspirational message I asked some participants to dance for entertainment, which made everyone burst into laughter because of the notable dance move of the participants and how they run and their body stretches when our Mayor’s aide and some councilors throw in some cash for them to enjoy and to dance more.

Our mayor shared an empowering and inspirational message, she also reminded everyone to serve the public with a happy heart and to love each other, but not to the extent to develop a love relationship with a workmate, our municipal vice mayor also shared an inspirational message right after whom he talked about honesty doing our work well even there was nobody looking at us, and with his permission, the bar was opened, what I mean the boys were now allowed to group and drink. You know, boys will be boys, they will not enjoy a party without something to drink, so they found their own corner in the resort.

The second part of the program started right after listening to inspirational messages, where it was all about group games. It was a lot of fun, the participants enjoyed it and even requested another game before eating our dinner.  We ate our dinner, and we rested a bit to prepare for the social night, where our vice mayor hired a band for everyone’s enjoyment.

Anyway, Blue Pebbles Beach Resort is located in Poblacion of Alcantara, it is along the highway with a nice landscape and surroundings and with a great view of the sea. Its location combined with the tranquil and peaceful surroundings creates a very relaxing atmosphere for anyone looking for a restful time.

The beach resort has small and big cottages for rent, they also have rooms for visitors who want an overnight stay.  Their family room can be rented for ₱4,500.00 and cater to up to five people but can be maximized to upto seven or eight people, costing ₱350.00 for an extra person which is a bit costly for those who can’t afford, they also have a room beside the pool which is designed for two people at ₱1,800 .oo, and ₱250.00 for an extra bedding or person.

The downside of the resort when we had our team building was having no water in the middle of the night, in short, we are not able to wash properly after dipping in the pool. Ha-ha

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. The above-written post was my own personal experience and might be different from yours.

My officemates have been asking me to go with them after office, to unwind and chase sunset or spend an overnight escapade somewhere, but I keep declining, I would love the idea, but the introverted me doesn’t like it. I don’t feel like being away from home and from the comfort of my comfort zone, but then one day I went with them to chase sunset at a hill top a few minutes away from the town center.

The hill top was owned by a relative who also happened to be one of the town councilor, I thought it will be going to be a long walk, but I was wrong, it was only a few minutes walk and I have not even sweated going up hill. The place wasn’t fully develop yet, but there was already a trail to use, so it wasn’t that hard to reach the top.

The moment we reached the peak, we became busy snapping pictures while the others immediately prepared and feasted on the food, the view was very mesmerizing, seeing the shore and a little bit of sunset.

[ Tagged In ] Chasing Sunset, Hill top, Hilltop, Sunset